Silgan Holdings to acquire Graham Packaging Company

(PlasticsToday) -- It's a packaging merger for the ages as Silgan Holdings Inc. announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Graham Packaging Company Inc., one of the world's 3 largest blowmolders of plastics packaging. Silgan controls about 50% of the North American metal food container market, and also makes composite, glass and plastics packaging.

Silgan is headquartered in Stamford, CT and operates 83 facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Graham Packaging operates almost 100 facilities in the same regions, processing polypropylene, polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate.

The combined company will have annual sales exceeding USD 6.2 billion, with more than 17,000 employees at 180 manufacturing facilities in 19 countries. The purchase will make Silgan a world leader in food and specialty beverage packaging, with combined revenues of approximately USD 4.6 billion in that space.

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(Dow) -- The Dow Chemical Company, a leader in energy conservation, has been recognized for its excellence in energy efficiency by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE awarded two Superior Energy Performance certifications to the Company for achievements in energy efficiency at its Texas City Operations facility.

The Superior Energy Performance program is a new American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited energy management certification program designed to help industrial facilities drive continual energy efficiency achievements while maintaining competitiveness. The project was developed by the DOE with support from the U.S. Council for Energy-Efficient Manufacturing (U.S. CEEM).

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(Plastemart) -- Lummus Technology, a CB&I company, has been awarded a contract from Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries Inc. LLP (KPI) for the license and basic engineering of a propane dehydrogenation unit and a polypropylene plant. The two units, each with a design capacity of 500 KTa are planned as part of KPI's gas processing complex to be built in the western Atyrau region.

The propane dehydrogenation unit will make use of the CATOFIN technology for conversion of propane to propylene. The polypropylene plant will use the Novolen advanced gas-phase polypropylene technology, which will enable KPI to produce a broad range of polypropylene products to meet the needs of both local and export markets. Both technologies provide high reliability and easy operability.

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(SIBUR) -- SIBUR has reached an agreement for the acquisition of a 26.3% stake in the company Cherepovets "Azot" from a group of investors. The acquisition is aimed at improving the current capitalization of SIBUR business with respect to the production of mineral fertilizers. The company's strategy to phase out the non-core lines of the business through their sale or merger with other producers of nitrogen fertilizer has not been changed. The deal is expected to be concluded following the approval from the appropriate regulatory authorities.

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(BP) -- BP announced that it has agreed with Rosneft to extend the deadline for completing the share swap agreement (previously announced on 14 January) to 16 May 2011. The agreement between the two companies followed the 8 April decision of the arbitral tribunal to allow them to discuss extension of the deadline. This means that the share swap agreement will now not terminate on 14 April 2011.

The share swap agreement, between BP and Rosneft, together with the related Arctic Opportunity, were originally announced on 14 January 2011. Both the share swap agreement and the Arctic Opportunity remain subject to an interim injunction.

BP intends to continue with the arbitration process to obtain a final award on all outstanding issues, including whether or not the interim injunction should continue.

BP remains fully committed to TNK-BP as its primary business vehicle in Russia and fully supports its strategy and investment programme, which should ensure its success for decades to come. BP also owns a 1.3% interest in Rosneft and has been exploring offshore Sakhalin for over a decade and engaging in Arctic studies.

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